The Henry Trilogy
by Tiger Lily28
Summary: Whenever little Henry has trouble sleeping, he's found a special friend who helps him into dreamland, but has he found his own way to give his mom a gift of her own?
1. Chapter 1

The Henry Trilogy: Part One: As A Fever

Author: TigerLily 28

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to CBS, the writers who write them and the actors who portray them. I make no money off of them. It's all in fun.

Rating: PGish

Summary: Whenever Henry has trouble sleeping, he's found a special friend who helps him into dreamland, but has he found his own way to give his mom a gift of her own?

A/N: 1) This is unbeta'd. It just is. 2) I hate songfic, but this fic was, admittedly, inspired by a song that unexpectedly rolled across my IPod one day. The story worm wouldn't leave me alone. I promise there are NO song lyrics in the story.

The Henry Trilogy

Part One: As A Fever

There were three things JJ loved about Henry's daycare being in the same building where she worked. One: Less travel time to and from work. Two: She was available at a moment's notice if Henry needed something. Three: A roomful of babysitters if and when she needed to stay at work after daycare closed.

Such was the case this afternoon. Daycare wasn't closed at three o'clock in the afternoon, but poor Henry was running a fever. Daycares, even federally run daycares, refused to keep infants with fevers or they would have an epidemic on their hands. This is how JJ found herself in her office on a Thursday afternoon trying to soothe a very agitated baby while at the same time working on getting her paperwork cleared up so she could leave for the day.

JJ was aware that Henry's cries were disturbing her team, but was powerless to quiet her sick son. The faster she could get him out of there and home to some baby aspirin and a cold compress, the better. "Shhh, sweetie. Hush. We'll go home in just a minute. Mommy just has to lock up, okay? Almost time to go home." She lifted Henry from his car seat and tears sprung to her eyes when she felt his hot skin as he clung desperately to his mother, hoping for comfort.

The knock on her door startled her. "Come in." she called quietly, gently rocking her crying child.

Emily Prentiss stepped tentatively into the office, her hands in front of her, fingertips worrying together.

"Em," JJ started, somewhat ashamed that she couldn't keep Henry quiet. "I'm sorry. I'm getting him out of here; I just needed to finish up a couple of things. He's a pretty sick kid."

"No, don't worry about it." Emily cocked her head to the side so her hair fell softly over her shoulder. The slight movement made JJ sigh inaudibly and she smiled into the soft blonde head on her shoulder. "Can I help? I can hold him while you finish up."

"Oh, Em, that's OK. I don't want to put you out. I'm done, just need to put a couple of things away and lock up. He'll be OK for a few..." at that moment, Henry let out a heartbreaking scream.

Emily didn't wait for permission. She crossed the room in three steps and gently lifted Henry out of JJ's arms and onto her strong shoulder. While at her closest, Emily could smell the soft perfume, lavender. She shook off the sensations it caused and focused on her current task. "Go. Finish. I got him." She turned to sit in a chair across from JJ's desk, cooing softly at what she realized was a very feverish baby.

JJ shook her head and smiled. "Thanks," was all she was able to say as he returned to finishing up her daily tasks. What she missed in her flurry activity is the striking silence that had settled over the room. The child, who, three minutes ago, had been making his small presence very much known, was now utterly silent. When it occurred to her that it was far too quiet, JJ's head snapped up. "Henry?" she exclaimed, worry coating her voice.

"Shh. You'll wake him up." Emily said without looking away from the sleeping boy in the crook of her elbow.

JJ gasped. It was a breathtaking sight. Emily Prentiss had put her crying child to sleep and he was now snoring soundly, snuggled safely in the strong arms of the BAU's most stoic agent.

"How did you do that?" JJ inquired.

Emily shrugged. "Guess he was sleepy."

"No, Em. Babies with high fevers don't go from screaming bloody murder to sound asleep in three minutes. You must have a magic touch."

Emily blushed. "Nah. He just wore himself out."

"My hero." JJ teased as she leaned over the chair to lift Henry out of his cocoon.

Their eyes met, with only inches separating them. JJ's heart began to race. For an instant she considered thanking Emily with more than a simple melodramatic statement. But the thought was fleeting. Instead she dropped her eyes shyly and ducked out of the bubble of intensity which had settled over the pair.

"Thank you." The words caught in her throat as she settled Henry into his car seat and made a production of fastening the various safety harnesses in an effort to keep a modicum of distance from the woman still occupying her office.

Emily recognized the awkwardness of the situation. The momentary exchange with JJ had left all of her neurons misfiring. She took a few seconds to recover, during which her hands returned to their default position, constantly worrying at her fingertips.

"I hope Henry feels better," she stated when she found her voice again and stood up. "Please let me know if you need anything else." Her hand rested briefly on JJ's shoulder, a final attempt at contact with the bashful blonde, but slid quickly away.

"I will" JJ lifted the car seat and allowed Emily to hold the office door open for her. "Night Em."

"Good night." Emily let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and watched her friend leave the BAU before returning to her desk.

"Nice goin' Prentiss," she whispered quietly to herself as she attempted to get her racing heart and blushing cheeks under control.

Meanwhile, as JJ fastened her seatbelt and started the car, she looked over at Henry. "Now, kiddo, why did you have to go and do a thing like that?"

Henry let out a soft snore, clenched his tiny fists and slept on.


	2. Chapter 2

The Henry Trilogy: Part Two: The Baby Whisperer

Author: TigerLily 28

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to CBS, the writers who write them and the actors who portray them. I make no money off of them. It's all in fun.

Rating: PGish

Summary: Whenever Henry has trouble sleeping, he's found a special friend who helps him into dreamland, but has he found his own way to give his mom a gift of her own?

A/N: 1) This is unbeta'd. It just is. 2) I hate songfic, but this fic was, admittedly, inspired by a song that unexpectedly rolled across my IPod one day. The story worm wouldn't leave me alone. I promise there are NO song lyrics in the story.

The Henry Trilogy

Part Two: The Baby Whisperer

"Jennifer Jareau?"

"That's me."

"You've been served."

"What?"

"Sign here please."

JJ signed on a dotted line and was handed a yellow envelope. The weight of the envelope told her precisely what it was.

She and Will had been arguing for awhile. Neither of them was entirely happy. He'd made noises about moving out, but JJ had been determined to make things better, to make things work, for Henry's sake.

She got home that evening, after a long walk and a good cry, to Will placing Henry gently in his crib.

She leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. "You could have told me," she stated quietly so as not to wake the baby. "Being surprised by an officer of the court wielding an envelope is not the best way to find out you're about to be a divorcee."

"I'm sorry." Will said. "You're right. I was scared."

"Will, please reconsider. We can work this out. We just need to talk about it, to communicate more."

"Let's talk about this tomorrow JJ. It's been a long day and I don't want to do this with Henry in the house. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Will, Henry is our son. He's always in the house, and if we're going to work this out, it's going to be for his sake. He's sleeping, Will, please, let's talk about this."

"No, JJ. If we're going to work this out, it's going to take hours of talking and, dare I say it, arguing, and I don't want to do that in the same four walls that my son is sleeping, so I would prefer to do this tomorrow." He tried to exit the room but was stopped by JJ's hand on his forearm"

"Now, Will. Henry or no Henry, I'm not sleeping tonight until at least some of this is discussed. Please."

Will reached for the cell phone hooked to JJ's hip. "Call Penelope. We'll take Henry there for the night and then come back here and hash this out. OK?"

A compromise. JJ sighed. She could work with that. "OK," she stated simply and dialed Garcia's number.

JJ knocked on Garcia's door, her arms full of sleeping child and diaper bag, and it was opened immediately.

"Hey Jayj," Garcia said empathetically. "Come on in. Hey little guy." Henry yawned, but remained sleeping.

"Thanks for doing this, Garcia. It's the only way I could pin Will down and actually talk this out rather than just running away. I'm really sorry to bother you."

"Don't you worry pumpkin. We'll take good care of him. Emily was over for movie night, so we'll just play 'alternative lifestyle house' tonight. It'll be fun."

At the mention of her name, Emily emerged from the living room and shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

"JJ, please call us if you need anything else tonight. Someone to talk to, a stiff drink, anything."

"I will, Em. Thanks."

Penelope removed Henry from JJ's tense arms and handed him to Emily, who settled him on her hip, his head on her shoulder.

"OK, Hugs all around, and then go save your marriage. We'll keep the boy genius as long as you need." Garcia wrapped JJ in a warm hug and cupped her cheek briefly in a sign of affection before turning to Emily and taking over care of the sleeping child.

Emily then took her turn hugging her obviously stressed out friend. When standing this close to JJ, Emily's head rested perfectly on top of the blonde head. Emily fought hard not to get lost in the feel of gentle fingers on the small of her back as JJ returned the warm hug. "Take care, OK? I'm only a phone call away."

JJ nodded and pulled away from Emily, sighing heavily. "There's baby food and some finger food in his diaper bag. We still give him formula if he has trouble sleeping, so there are a couple full bottles in there too. He should sleep the rest of the night, but if he doesn't, rocking or a bottle usually knocks him right out. Thanks again, both of you." She squeezed Emily's arm, gave Garcia a shy wave, and was gone.

Emily sighed as the door closed. "Well, that sucks."

Penelope shrugged. "Sure does. But maybe, in the long run, it will be for the best." She smiled knowingly at Emily. "C'mon Princess, let's go put our Prince to sleep. If you ever expect to land a dish like JJ, you'll need practice with her kid."

Emily stumbled and stopped short. "What! Garcia! I am not trying to… _land_ JJ! That's ludicrous."

"Oh, OK, my mistake," Garcia threw over her shoulder with a smirk as she went to lay Henry in the playpen she kept handy for occasions such as these.

"Garcia!"

"Shh. Emily, you'll wake the baby." Garcia was smiling outright now, enjoying the rise she was getting out of the unsettled brunette.

"I – " but the words died on her lips as she realized that the more she denied it, the more credence she lent Garcia's little theory. "Shut up, Garcia" she snapped, with a smirk.

Penelope's phone rang at around 3 a.m., startling all three inhabitants of the tiny apartment awake.

Emily had been sleeping on the couch, in case Garcia needed help with Henry. Penelope reached for her wailing phone just as little Henry let out a wail of his own.

"Garcia," she answered sleepily.

"Hey, Pen. I'm outside, can you let me up?"

"Sure Jayj, is everything OK?" 

"Fine, I just need a place to crash. I couldn't stay there with him."

"Come on up." Penelope dialed the numbers to open the door to the complex and rose to throw open the deadbolt.

Meanwhile, Emily was tending to a crying Henry.

Within a minute, Emily's arms were full of a wailing child and Penelope's arms were full of a crying JJ.

The whole group converged on the couch and JJ reached for her son, who snuggled into his mother's neck, but continued to cry.

In the next half hour, JJ relayed the whole story. Will wanted to move back to New Orleans and had given her an ultimatum. Move with me or we divorce. He already knew what her answer would be, which is why he already filed the papers. He had charged that JJ had never truly loved him, which, when she was being honest with herself, she could never truly deny. They would share custody of Henry, which would be complicated. Full proceedings would start in the coming weeks and months. Law stated they would need to be legally separated for a full year before a divorce could be finalized. It was going to be a long process.

Henry, who had been sleeping again, awoke and filled the small apartment with his cries, which made JJ burst into tears again. "Sometimes, I think he can sense the tension in the house too," she sniffled. "He may be under 2, but I can't imagine how all of this will affect him." JJ wiped at her red eyes and stroked Henry's back.

"Here, let me take him," Emily asked gently. JJ did. Emily lifted Henry to her shoulder and soothed him with light rocking and quiet sounds as Garcia enveloped his crying mother in another hug.

Emily wandered into the kitchen, talking nonsense to little Henry as she prepared one of his bottles. "Your mama loves you a lot little one, you know that?" she whispered. "You're a lucky boy. Everything's going to be OK. I'll make sure you and your mom are taken care of. There are a lot of people who love you and that just might be enough." During the stream of conscience, Henry had fallen silent, soothed by the warm tones of Emily's voice, calmed by the sound, even though he couldn't understand the words.

She gave him the bottle, which he held on to and sucked voraciously as his blue eyes looked into Emily's brown ones. "You have your mom's eyes." Emily mused, giving Henry a soft tap on the tip of his nose.

Noticing the quiet, JJ patted Garcia's knee and stood up to check on her son. She entered the kitchen and nearly burst into tears again.

There was Emily Prentiss, attempting to feed a half empty bottle to an obviously sleeping Henry. The smile on Emily's face told the entire story. Without noticing JJ in the doorway, she set the bottle on the table and wiped Henry's mouth before looking up, sensing JJ's presence.

JJ's eyes glistened and she leaned on the doorjamb. She opened her mouth to speak but was beaten to the punch.

"Well… I guess we have a regular little 'Baby Whisperer' in our presence." Garcia stated playfully as she leaned on the other side of the kitchen entrance. "She did the exact same thing earlier. I swear anytime that kid is with her, he falls right to sleep." Penelope observed.

"Yeah," JJ wiped her eyes. "I've noticed that too," she said as she crossed the room to take over care of the little boy. As she leant over to lift him from Emily's embrace, their eyes met, just as they had once before. The memories flashed through both women's minds and the same sensations coursed through both. "I think he does it on purpose," she whispered.

This time it was Emily who broke eye contact. This was a strong woman in a very vulnerable state. The intensity was palpable. "I should go." She stood once Henry was safely ensconced in his mother's arms. "I'll see you both on Monday. Good Night." She left the room.

"Whoa." Garcia was surprised by what she had just witnessed. She then found her arms full of sleeping baby. Knowing the other two women needed a bit of privacy, she escaped to the living room to put the baby back in his makeshift crib.

JJ hurried to the entry. "Emily."

The brunette stopped short with a short, inaudible sigh.

"Thanks, y'know, for taking such good care of Henry. Of me... of us. I… just thanks," she spit out with a wary smile.

Emily reached out and cupped JJ's cheek, only for a moment, her thumb lightly stroking a cheekbone. "Anytime. Please let me know if you need anything. Good night."

"Night." JJ whispered, but the other woman was already gone.

JJ wandered back into the living room and met the all-knowing eyes of Penelope Garcia.

"Shut up Garcia" JJ shot at her as she leaned over Henry.

"You have got to stop doing that kiddo, you hear me?" she whispered with a smile.

Henry let out a small sigh, rubbed his nose and slept on.


	3. Chapter 3

The Henry Trilogy: Part Three: Kiss the Girl

Author: TigerLily 28

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to CBS, the writers who write them and the actors who portray them. I make no money off of them. It's all in fun.

Rating: PGish

Summary: Whenever Henry has trouble sleeping, he's found a special friend who helps him into dreamland, but has he found his own way to give his mom a gift of her own?

A/N: 1) This is unbeta'd. It just is. 2) I hate songfic, but this fic was, admittedly, inspired by a song that unexpectedly rolled across my IPod one day. The story worm wouldn't leave me alone. I promise there are NO song lyrics in the story.

The Henry Trilogy

Part Three: Kiss the Girl

Jennifer Jareau stood from her desk for the first time in hours. She stretched her arms above her head, rolled her head around on her neck and let out a tired sigh. She picked up her handbag from her file cabinet, took one last glance around her cluttered office, turned off the light and headed out for the day.

It was almost over. Tonight was the final mediation session in her divorce proceedings. Overall, she mused, things had been relatively amicable. It hadn't been the nightmare she had imagined when Will had had her served with the papers he had already filed. "Irreconcilable Differences" was the bullshit, PC legalese for "You don't love me, I miss my hometown, and our lives don't fit together, but we have a son to raise"

At first, JJ had been angry, sad and confused. She argued, she pleaded, she cried, but in the end, she acquiesced. Will was only doing what JJ herself hadn't had the courage to. He was right. What had ultimately been a shotgun wedding had turned into an obligatory marriage and it was making them both miserable. The one thing they still had in common was utter love, devotion and joy for their son. Henry had kept them together far longer than they ever would have been otherwise, and had accounted for the only truly happy moments in their 3-year marriage. He was a delightful boy, funny and happy with a charming laugh and an open smile; a testament to the two people who loved him most. When Will had moved out and returned to New Orleans, Henry had been a little lost, but had quickly adjusted to his bi-weekly journeys to his dad's house. Kids are resilient, JJ thought. We could all take a lesson from him.

JJ was startled from her musings as the door of her office snicked closed behind her at the same moment her blackberry rang loudly, cracking the silence of the bullpen, which had all but been deserted for the day.

"Jareau," JJ answered professionally.

"JJ, its Kelly."

"Hey, I'm just on my way to pick you up. I have to stop and get Henry at day care first." JJ's most trusted babysitter, Kelly, was a Georgetown student without a car. Travelling to and from campus to pick her up was a small price to pay for someone that Henry adored so completely.

"JJ, I'm so sorry, but I'm not going to be able to sit with Henry tonight. My roommate broke her leg in her soccer game today. I'm her emergency contact. I'm getting in an ambulance right now to go to the hospital with her. I wouldn't do this if there was anyone else to go with her." JJ's jaw dropped. No sitter meant one of two things. She would either have to reschedule the mediation, and Will had flown up for that very reason, or she'd have to bring Henry with her, something she had told herself she never wanted to do.

"It's OK, Kelly. I understand. I'll… figure it out. Give Sidney my best, I hope she's ok."

"Thanks, JJ, again, I'm so sorry. Give Henry a kiss for me."

"Bye, Kelly."

JJ hung up and rolled her eyes. What was she going to do?

As she looked up she spotted Emily Prentiss across the room shutting her workspace down for the day.

Emily slung her messenger bag across her shoulder, looked up to the stairway where JJ was standing and gave her a killer smile.

"Night Jayj! See you tomorrow" she waved as she headed for the glass doors and the elevator bank beyond.

That's when it hit her. The solution. Emily.

"Emily wait!" JJ surprised even herself with the vehemence of her demand.

Emily stopped suddenly and turned.

"What are your plans for tonight?" JJ asked, hoping a disarming smile would win her friend over.

Emily perked up a bit at the possibility of plans with JJ. "Nothing major. A glass of wine and a good book. What did you have in mind?" she asked, with just a touch of intrigue in her voice.

JJ sighed dramatically. "My sitter cancelled at the last minute. I really don't want to cancel on Will. We both just want to get this over with. Could you, possibly, watch Henry for a few hours tonight?" she asked tentatively. "I wouldn't ask, but I'm a little desperate."

"Oh, uh, ok." Emily tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Sure, Jayj, whatever you need. I'd be happy to. I haven't seen Hank in awhile anyway. It'll give me a chance to work on making sure he doesn't grow up with a southern accent." She smiled genuinely. "Let me run home and change. I'll be over as soon as I can."

They started for the elevators together.

JJ breathed another sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, Em. I swear I'll make it up to you. Sushi on me this weekend?"

"Sounds great."

They stepped into the elevator and rode in silence. Emily couldn't help but steal sidelong glances at JJ's immaculate profile. JJ could feel Emily's eyes on her but was unsure how to react. As the doors slid open their eyes met and JJ's slender hand reached out to squeeze Emily's bare arm, causing goose bumps to spring up from wrist to shoulder. "Thanks again, Em, truly. I'll see you in a little bit." She said quietly as she stepped out of the elevator.

"No problem." Emily all but whispered as she followed the blonde out of the building.

Pull yourself together, Prentiss, she chided herself as she slid into her car and headed home.

The doorbell rang just as JJ was fastening her earring. Henry was settled contentedly in his booster seat shoveling macaroni and cheese into his mouth with his fingers, his red plastic spoon long forgotten at the side of his bowl. JJ patted him on the head and headed for the door.

"Hi Em. Come on in. I'm just finishing feeding Henry. I'll get him cleaned up and in his jammies and then he's all yours."

Emily stepped into the warm, inviting home of Jennifer Jareau. She wasn't sure how her friend pulled it off, but the house always managed to smell like clean laundry with a hint of lavender. Hearing the tough, media-ready FBI agent say a pedestrian word like "jammies" pulled at Emily's heartstrings a little. "You go finish getting ready," she insisted. "I know you want to look just good enough to remind Will what he's giving up. I'll take care of the little man."

"You are incorrigible, Emily Prentiss…but you're not wrong." She admitted with a shy smile. "I think he's done. He's getting more on the table than in his mouth anyway." She headed upstairs to finish her makeup and gather her paperwork for the meeting.

Emily entered the kitchen to find Henry LaMontagne throwing macaroni and cheese over the side of his chair only to watch fascinated as it fell in erratic patterns on the hardwood floor. The room filled with his infectious giggle as another handful went overboard. Emily couldn't help but let out a stifled giggle herself.

"Ok mister. Enough of the mess-making. Let's get you cleaned up." She lifted him from the booster seat and went about cleaning up Henry, the dishes and the floor before carrying him upstairs to get him ready for bed.

JJ set her briefcase down outside of Henry's room and her breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. Henry in his green feetie pajamas, giggling hysterically, with a flushed and laughing Emily Prentiss tickling him mercilessly on the floor of his room.

She couldn't hold in her laughter any longer and the sound make Emily look up. She blushed even deeper, embarrassed. "Sorry," she picked up Henry, set him on his feet and ruffled his hair. "I probably shouldn't get him all riled up right after dinner."

"No, it's fine. Wear him out now, he'll be a piece of cake to put to bed later." She instructed. "I have to go. I should be home by 10 or so. I'm on my cell. Don't be afraid to call if you need anything. A half glass of milk in his sippy cup about ½ hour before bedtime and he'll fall right to sleep. He loves The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book if you need him to settle down. There's a fresh pot of coffee on the maker and chocolate in the jar on top of the fridge if you're so inclined." She smiled knowingly. Emily Prentiss' penchant for dark chocolate was legendary at the BAU. "Any questions?"

"Just one." The brunette stepped into JJ's personal space. "Are you OK? I mean, it's a pretty big thing you're going off to do. Can I do anything to help _you_?"

JJ took a deep breath, Emily's proximity chipping away at the buffer she had so carefully constructed between herself and the whirlpool of emotions just on the other side. "I'm ok, Em, thanks. We just need to finish this. Will's been a perfect gentleman through the whole process. Almost too much so. It's almost like he doesn't feel anything about this divorce, like he's approaching it as he would an investigation; total professionalism."

"Judging from the wall that you've constructed around yourself over the past several months, I'm guessing he's thinking the same thing about you." Emily reasoned. "You're both being so, well, _grown-up_ about this. I'm glad, for your sake it's almost over, but, JJ, you can't hold this stuff in forever."

JJ nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak.

"Just know that I'm right here if you need to breakdown, ok?"

The blonde nodded again. "Thanks."

"In any case, this little toe-head is in good hands." Emily swept Henry into her strong arms and gave him a tickle. "Get out of here, and come back a single woman, deal?"

"Deal" JJ flashed one of her trademark shy smiles and kissed Henry on the cheek. "Bye buddy. Mommy loves you." She gave Emily's forearm a squeeze, grabbed her briefcase and rushed down the stairs and out the door.

Emily watched her go and sighed audibly while Henry tugged at her ebony locks. "Your mom is somethin' else, kiddo." She whispered, more to herself than the boy in her arms. "C'mon, let's go play."

It was just before 10 when JJ pulled into her driveway. Exhausted, sad, but ultimately relieved. It was, for all intents and purposes, official. Jennifer Jareau was no longer a married woman, pending the filing of some documents at the courthouse, which her attorney would do. She never even had to set foot inside of a courtroom.

She opened the front door, dropped her keys on the hutch and her briefcase on the floor and began hunting for Emily. She refrained from shouting so she wouldn't wake Henry, who was likely asleep just at the top of the stairs. She heard the muffled sounds of the television coming from the den down the hall. As she stepped into the room the vision before her charmed her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. In the overstuffed armchair in front of the TV sat Emily Prentiss, sound asleep with a toddler snuggled soundly against her chest snoring softly into her neck. The Little Mermaid was playing cheerfully in the background. JJ vaguely registered the cartoon lobster and his silly Jamaican dialect, but her focus was on the brown and blonde heads laying close together, both oblivious to their audience.

JJ placed a hand over her heart to try and slow the beating as tears pricked at her eyes. For a moment, she could almost believe that she could walk in on this scene every day and never tire of it. Gathering herself, she stepped forward, bent over the sleeping duo and gently lifted Henry from the cocoon of Emily's arms.

Emily woke at the loss of warmth and weight on her bosom and lifted her head only to meet the steely blue eyes of Jennifer Jareau only inches from her own.

Her heartbeat sped up and time slowed down. The edges of the world blurred but Emily distinctly heard the sound of JJ's breath hitch in her throat and the cartoon lobster across the room urging the handsome prince to kiss the pretty girl.

_Well, if the lobster says so… _Emily thought defiantly as she mustered her confidence, took a deep breath, and leaned forward slightly.

At the same moment, Jennifer Jareau closed her eyes, licked her lips, and completely chickened out.

She lifted her sleeping son the rest of the way, gave Emily a wan, apologetic smile and hurried up the stairs to Henry's room.

Emily sighed heavily. _Nice goin' Prentiss. She's at the most vulnerable she's ever been and THIS is the moment you choose? _

With the intent of apologizing and making a hasty exit, Emily headed up the stairs and found Jennifer Jareau sitting on the edge of Henry's "big boy bed" stroking the boy's head tenderly.

It was in that moment that the tough, hardened profiler turned to absolute goo. She allowed herself a long moment to admire JJ and her total adoration of her son.

"Jennifer" Emily started quietly. "I – "

JJ looked up, and the tears in her eyes gave her away.

"Hey," Emily changed her tactics. "What's wrong? Listen, I'm sorry about back there. I don't know what came over me. Are you okay?"

JJ's tears kept coming. "Say it again."

A little confused, Emily tentatively replied, "I'm sorry?"

"No, my name. Say it again."

"Jennifer." It came out a little more breathy and sad than Emily had intended, which must have upset JJ since she rose silently from the bed and left the room, not making eye contact with the baffled brunette.

Unsure how to proceed, Emily followed JJ down the stairs and back into the den, where the TV had been hastily turned off and where a very upset blonde was now sitting on the sofa, her head in her hands.

She must have sensed Emily's presence because she began to speak without looking up. "It's done, Em. I'm divorced. A free woman." If Emily didn't know any better she would have though she detected a hint of ironic amusement in her voice, but there was no time to ruminate as JJ continued. "And when I came home tonight and found Henry, asleep in your arms, the only thing I could think of was how much I wanted to put that moment on endless repeat until I had every sight and every feeling memorized. I haven't even been away from Will an hour and still, being in the same room with you makes me feel…"

"Makes you feel what JJ?" Emily was holding her breath.

"Like he never even existed," and with that, the shattered blonde dissolved into tears.

Emily kneeled in front of JJ and took the sobbing woman in her arms, rubbing her back, stroking her hair, whispering nonsense into her ear.

When calm had settled over the room, Emily looked into the same steely, blue eyes she had only minutes ago and spoke, softly. "I think I've made it pretty clear tonight how I feel about you, Jennifer. I didn't intend to. It was a secret I meant to take to my grave, but there it is. Plain as day. But, please know, I will not let it cloud my friendship with you and I will never pressure or rush you. This," she gestured between them, "will only happen IF and WHEN – "but she was cut off by a pair of soft pink lips settling softly on her own. "- you want" she finished lamely, her eyes closed and her breath short.

JJ smiled. "Yes, I do." And she kissed her again. Hands stroked hair and faces, tongues danced, and soft sighs filled the room.

As they parted, JJ looked intently at the woman who until 30 minutes ago had been a confident, strong, sexy, tough girl and was now looking agog at JJ as though someone had stolen her brain and her voice.

When it became clear Emily was not going to speak, JJ put words to the thoughts that were running in loop through both of their minds. "It's going to be complicated."

Emily nodded; her gaze falling downward to make sure the floor was still holding her up.

JJ continued. "Strauss isn't going to like it."

That got Emily's attention and she finally found her voice. "The number of things Erin Strauss does not, and will not know about could fill a garbage barge."

JJ giggled. "We'll need Hotch on our side, because there's no way we can hide this from a team of professional profilers."

Emily shrugged. "Okay"

JJ laughed again. "That's it? Okay? A relationship that could very well put both of our careers on the line that we are actually considering disclosing to our _mutual_ boss _on purpose_, and all you can say is 'Okay'?"

Emily appeared pensive for a moment. "Let me think…" She leaned forward and bestowed another bone-melting kiss upon the bemused blonde across from her. "Mmm. Yup. Okay."

This time it was JJ's turn to be speechless. "Okay" she stated breathlessly.

As they were saying what was supposed to be a chaste goodbye at the front door an hour later, JJ asked curiously. "Em?"

"Hm?" Emily vaguely heard her name as she explored with her lips, the long elegant neck she had so admired from afar.

"What made you choose tonight? You know, to try to kiss me" JJ had to spit the question out quickly before all of her higher brain function was lost to Emily's ministrations.

A surprised, but amused brunette looked up and met steely blue eyes for the third time that night. "Oh, the lobster in the movie told me to." She once again flashed that dazzling smile, gave JJ an innocent peck on the cheek and walked suavely backwards down the front walk. "Goodnight, Jennifer," Emily winked flirtatiously, turned and walked away whistling "Kiss the Girl" quietly as she went.

Emily's taillights had turned the corner and disappeared before JJ found the wherewithal to close and lock her front door and make her way clumsily up the stairs to check on her sleeping son. "She's somethin' else, huh kiddo." She whispered quietly to the room.

Henry stretched briefly, turned his head, tucked himself into a ball and slept on.

The End


End file.
